The new name for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument — Papahanaumokuakea — is actually four words compressed into one: Papa, Hanau, Moku and Akea.

"Although there are four different words, they relate to one person, one deity," said Auntie Pualani Kanahele, a member of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group that helped select the name.

"Papa" is a feminine great ancestor, part of the kupuna class, and represents the "broad expanse of the earth, or reef," Kanahele said.

"Hanau" is to give birth, and "moku" means islands, "so it means giving birth to the islands," Kanahele said.

"And Akea is the broad expanse of the islands that we're covering," Kanahele said. "So the name means the deity of our ancestors who extends to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the great expanse she gave birth to."

In a statement, Gov. Linda Lingle's office defined "Papa" as "foundation earth" and "provides the imagery of the numerous low flat islands that stretch across the ocean into the northwest.

"The preservation of these names together, as 'Papahanaumokuakea' strengthens Hawai'i's cultural foundation and grounds Native Hawaiians to an important part of their historical past," the governor's office said.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.